Corporate Social Responsibility at Microsoft
The world knows microsoft as the creator of the Windows operating system, the Office productivity suite and the Xbox gaming consoles. The company also produces the Bing search engine and the Azure cloud computing platform, among many other products and services. Corporate social responsibility is a key part of the company’s business model, which aims to create positive impacts in the community and the world.
Founded in 1975, microsoft is one of the most significant technology companies in history. Its operating system, Windows, revolutionized personal computer use in the 1980s by making computers accessible and useful to everyday people. The company’s Office programs, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, reshaped the way businesses and individuals work with documents and data. The company’s Xbox gaming consoles have made a lasting impact on the video game industry. Its corporate culture embraces the value of innovation, and it has a long history of supporting technology education and research, especially in underrepresented communities.
Microsoft began with a hardware division, which developed a mouse and keyboard to accompany its Windows operating system. The division branched out into software in the 1990s, when it established itself as a leader in productivity applications such as word processing and spreadsheet programs. The company also expanded its online presence with the launch of the Internet Explorer Web browser, which fought off rivals such as Netscape Navigator and became one of the most popular tools for accessing the Web.
By the 2000s, Microsoft had expanded its business to include cloud computing, with its Azure service becoming one of the largest in the world. Its online software offerings included Outlook for email and personal information management; Microsoft Dynamics, a suite of intelligent cloud applications designed to assist with business operations; and the GitHub open source code repository. In addition, the company developed its Xbox line of gaming devices, as well as a series of tablet computers, with the first Surface device released in 2012.
Satya Nadella succeeded Steve Ballmer as Microsoft’s CEO in 2014. He initiated a major cultural shift for the company, encouraging employees to think like startups and making strategic changes that would support this new approach. He infused the company with urgency and created a new vision for the company that resonated with employees and shareholders.
The company’s flagship product is the Windows operating system, which it has offered in various iterations since 1985. Its Windows mobile operating systems have been successful in the smartphone market, and its Windows 10 OS is an important player in the smart home market. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has been gaining in popularity, and its intelligent artificial intelligence products are a major part of its strategy moving forward.
There are several resources to learn about microsoft and its products, including official company blogs and social media channels. The Microsoft Tech Community blog features news, tips and tricks for all of the company’s products and services. Its Azure blog covers product updates, announcements and news related to the company’s cloud infrastructure. Its Command Line & Linux blog is another resource for developers, with posts about the Windows command line, Linux and the Windows Subsystem for Linux, or WSL.
